CAT Eligibility Criteria 2019- Age Limit, Qualification, Marks

CAT 2019 will be conducted by IIM Kozhikode on November 24, 2019. As per the necessary criteria, candidates who have completed graduation degree with a minimum of 50% marks are eligible to apply for CAT 2019.

Last date of CAT Registration is September 20, 2019. Management aspirants who fulfill the eligibility conditions can fill in the online application form available at iimcat.ac.in. Read on to know more about CAT eligibility criteria, reservation scheme, work experience, documents required and other such details.

CAT Eligibility Criteria 2019 – Academic Qualification

Candidate should have completed his/her Bachelor’s degree program in any stream from a recognized university or have an equivalent qualification which is recognized by the Ministry of HRD, India.

For general and NC-OBC category candidates, the minimum percentage required in the bachelor’s degree is 50%.

Candidates from the reserved categories must attain a minimum aggregate percentage of 45% in the bachelor's program.

For candidates who are awarded grades or CGPA, the conversion of grades or CGPA will be according to the process certified by the university/ institute.

Candidates in the final year of the program or awaiting their results can also apply.

Note: In such cases, a candidate will have to submit a certificate issued by Principal/Registrar of the College/Institution latest by June 30, 2019. The certificate should state that the candidate has completed the requirements of the course.

What is the Age limit for CAT 2019? Is there a limit on the number of attempts?

There is no age bar for taking CAT 2019 and there are no restrictions regarding the number of attempts either.

In the case of Grades or GPA are not available, how will be the calculation of minimum marks for the eligibility criteria?

If in case the Grading system or GPA score is not available for a particular college or university, the conversion of the percentage of marks will be done as per the procedure prescribed by the respective university or college.

Students who are pursuing the final year of their Bachelor’s degree can also take the examination.

Continuing graduation from University Recognized by MHRD/ UPSC/AICTE or UGC

50% (45% for SC, ST, PWD candidates)

Note 1: A recognized university is one which is constituted by an Act of the Central or State Legislature. It also includes any university or institute which is established by an act of Parliament or is declared as deemed to be University under Section 3 of the UGC Act of 1956.

Note 2: In case of Universities which award grades or CGPA, but do not have a procedure for conversion of grades to the percentage, the equivalent percentage will be calculated by the given process:

CAT Eligibility and IIM Eligibility: Difference

Candidate must note the difference between CAT Exam Eligibility 2019 and IIM Eligibility 2020-22. Although there is no age limit for both the CAT Exam Eligibility as well as IIM Eligibility, but the 2 years Bachelor’s degree is accepted by CAT. Whereas, IIMs require a 3 years Bachelor’s degree for their management program.

CAT Eligibility Criteria 2019: Equivalent Degrees

There are certain degrees which are considered equivalent to a bachelor degree. Candidates who possess or are pursuing any of these degrees are also eligible to appear for CAT 2019. The equivalent qualifications valid for appearing in CAT Exam are listed below:

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Technology of 4-years duration completed after 10+2 or Post B.Sc. or Post Diploma.

A degree equivalent to a bachelor degree in Engineering and Technology of Professional Societies recognized by MHRD/UPSC/AICTE such as AMIE by Institution of Engineers, India or AMICE by Institute of Civil Engineers of India.

Qualification is equivalent to bachelor’s degree recognized by Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi.

A candidate with any other qualification not listed here can also apply, but they will have to produce an equivalency certificate issued by Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi.

CAT Eligibility Criteria 2019 for Final Year Students

The eligibility criteria for CAT is graduation, although final year students of various bachelor's degree courses can also take the test.

However, a candidate will be admitted into a course only if he clears graduation with at least 50% marks.

IIMs and other management institutes verify CAT eligibility at various stages of the selection process.

After taking CAT 2019, shortlisted candidates must follow the following instructions-

They must show an original certificate from the Principal/Head of the Department/Registrar/Director of the University/Institution certifying that they have obtained 50% marks or equivalent (45% in case of reserved category) based on latest available grades/marks.

They must also submit a set of photocopy of the original certificates at the time of interview.

For the PGP in IIMs, selected candidates will be allowed to join the program provisionally only if they submit a certificate, stating-

They have completed all the requirements (the results may, however, be awaited) for obtaining the bachelor’s degree/ equivalent qualification on the date of issue of the certificate.

Their admission will be confirmed only when they submit the original mark sheet and degree certificate of having passed the bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification referred to in the certificate issued by Principal/Registrar of their college/institute.

They must obtain at least 50% marks or equivalent. They must submit a photocopy of the mark sheets and degree certificate.

Non-fulfillment of this condition will automatically result in the cancellation of the provisional admission.

IIMs would not allow any candidate to join their program in case the candidate is unable to complete all the requirements for a bachelor degree.

​Note-

During CAT 2019 Registration, the entered data is treated as final, and no change is permitted at a later stage. Any variation in data provided at selection stage with the actual data will lead to the nullification of candidature.

Candidates must declare and maintain the following throughout the selection process:

CAT Eligibility 2019: Work Experience

It must be noted that at the time of final selection, this work experience may be given some weightage by the IIMs. However, the exact weightage is never revealed and it varies from one IIM to another.

The bottom line is that work experience does not come into play till the last stage of final selection, and even then it does not play a deciding factor.

IIMs have been known to have a mixed batch comprising of both fresh graduates and students with work experience.

CAT Reservation Criteria 2019

IIMs follow the reservation guideline of the central government for admission to their MBA programs.

Essential Documents for Caste Based Reservation

Candidates who apply under the caste-based reservation must upload their SC/ST/NC-OBC certificate while filling the online application form.

They will also need to produce the original certificate at the time of interview and admission.

The format for caste certificate is available on the CAT official website.

Reservation Policy for Differently Abled Candidates

There is a separate reservation policy for differently abled candidates. The criteria for differently abled candidates are defined as below:

Hearing impairment

Low Vision blindness

Locomotor Disability/Cerebral Palsy

This reservation is, however, applicable only for those candidates who suffer from the said disabilities at least to the extent of 40% or more. These candidates must possess a medical certificate stating the same, issued by an authorized medical authority.

Reservation Norms for Differently Abled Candidates for CAT Exam

There is a reservation of 3% seats for differently abled candidates in IIMs.

Differently abled candidates need to have 45% marks in their graduate degree.

Differently abled candidates will be provided with a wheelchair (blind candidates or those affected with a locomotor disability) at the exam center if selected during CAT Registration.

Differently abled candidates in the low vision category can bring a scribe with them. There are no eligibility criteria set for scribes.

Essential Certificates

Those applying under the Differently Abled category must upload a PwD/DA certificate at the time of applying. They also need to produce the original certificate at the time of interview in the desired format:

Ans. There are no particular eligibility criteria that a candidate is appearing as a reader needs to follow. However, candidates appearing as readers are required to carry a passport size photograph, ID proof and must sign a declaration of their educational qualification.

Ques. From where can candidates obtain the form for a scribe or reader?

Ans. There is no separate form for the reader. Candidate must mention himself as scribe or reader while filling the CAT 2019 application form.

Ques. Where can a candidate submit his documents for verification?

Ans. Candidates must upload all the required documents online while filling the application form of CAT 2019.

Readers can clear their doubts through the comments section.

*The article might have information for the previous academic years, which will be updated soon subject to the notification issued by the University/College

Hi Aman, The basic eligibility criteria, candidates who have completed graduation degree with 50% marks are eligible to apply for CAT 2018. Also, candidates in final year/semester are eligible. A relaxation of 5% marks is awarded to candidates belonging to SC/ST/PWD categories. There is no restriction on age or number of attempts. Candidates of foreign origin fulfilling CAT Eligibility Criteria can apply.

I have done my B.sc and after that I have taken lateral entry into B.tech course of which I am in final year.Is it compulsory to mention the B.tech degree? If compulsory,what will be the course duration for the B.tech degree? Will it be 3 as I have taken lateral entry or it will be 4 as of the original course?

Hi Reddeiah,The basic Eligibility for CLAT:- For general and NC-OBC category candidates, the minimum percentage required in Bachelor’s degree is 50%. Candidates from the reserved categories must attain a minimum aggregate percentage of 45% in Bachelors.